How to Protect Your Health in the Heat, Cardiologists' Advice
Hot June days hit heart and chronic patients and the elderly hardest. Cardiologists explain how to adjust medication, air conditioning and fluid intake.
- Chronic and heart patients and older people are most at risk, because heat often triggers dizziness, collapse and fainting.
- The gap between the outside and indoor air-conditioning temperature should be no more than eight to ten degrees.
- The recommended daily fluid intake is around two litres for women and three litres for men.
- Chronic patients may temporarily lower the dose of certain medicines, but only after agreeing it with a cardiologist.
Can the heat really endanger a healthy person’s heart? For most people it will not, but for those who already have a heart or blood pressure problem, hot days become a serious risk. Cardiologist Goran Popovic warns that the most vulnerable are chronic and heart patients, along with older people, because heat in them often causes collapse, dizziness and fainting.
So summer should not be the season when we think about our health the least. On the contrary, it is in the hottest days that the body asks for more attention, and a few simple habits can make a big difference. Here is how to get through the hot stretch of June without trouble, step by step.
Who is most at risk and what to do
The most problems are seen in people whose bodies struggle to cope with sudden changes. Cardiologist Tamara Urosevic explains that the elderly are particularly sensitive.
The elderly have the greatest difficulties because their blood vessels are brittle, that is, not sufficiently elastic.
The practical advice from cardiologist Goran Popovic comes down to a few things you can apply today:
- Avoid sun exposure during the hottest part of the day, roughly between 11am and 5pm.
- Do not go outside without a bottle of water, a hat or cap and sunglasses.
- Do not stay too long in closed, non-air-conditioned rooms.
Avoid spending long periods in closed, non-air-conditioned rooms and avoid sun exposure.
When it comes to air conditioning, the key is not to overdo it. The recommendation is that the difference between the outside and indoor temperature should be no greater than eight to ten degrees, because the sudden temperature shock when stepping from the heat into a cold room can itself trigger a collapse.
How much fluid, and when to change your medication?
Hydration is the first line of defence, but here too more is not always better. To replace electrolytes, cardiologists recommend two glasses of mineral water, alongside a daily intake of around two litres for women and three litres for men. It is best to take fluids steadily throughout the day rather than forcing them down all at once.
Medication is a chapter of its own. Cardiologist Tamara Urosevic notes that during heatwaves chronic patients may reduce or halve the dose of certain medicines, because in high temperatures the blood vessels widen and blood pressure naturally falls. That means the usual dose can sometimes lower blood pressure too much.
There is one important rule here. The normal dose should be restored as soon as temperatures return to normal, and any change must be made strictly in agreement with a cardiologist. Cutting back or stopping treatment on your own can do more harm than good.
What do you watch most closely when the first real summer heatwaves arrive, the water, the shade or your medication routine?
